Swim Fit

Aqua aerobics has been a popular way of keeping fit for years, particularly for people with certain health problems or those recovering from injury.

Aqua exercises may be performed with or without pool equipment such as hand paddles, different foam floats such as “noodles” and weights. They may also be held in different water depths, with deep water classes providing float belts to assist exercises. Generally you don’t even need to be able to swim to participate in aqua aerobics classes.

Although generally more low-impact than land-based aerobics aqua aerobics does have most of the fat-burning and endurance-building benefits that you get from other forms of aerobic activity. An aqua class of around 30 minutes will help you burn about 300 calories. 

Classes will include things like jogging, kicking, jumping, squats, and dance movements. The main benefits of this type of exercise are:

• Great for all fitness levels
• Good for weight loss / fat burning
• Builds strength and flexibility
• Excellent cardio-respiratory exercise

A great advantage of exercising in water is that it offers resistance in all directions, compared to land exercises where you work only against gravity. Because of the cushioning effect that water provides, this form of exercise is particularly beneficial to anyone at risk from bodily stress, including the elderly, overweight, or those recovering from soft tissue injury. It’s also particularly good for pregnant women and is an ideal post-natal exercise.

Its benefits include:

• Increased aerobic endurance
• Greater flexibility
• Increased muscle tone

Exercising in water requires you to support only 50% of your body weight, making exercises easier to perform.  Water’s buoyancy lowers the risk of stress-related injuries that some land exercises have • The water’s resistance against your movements results in a higher workout intensity compared to land exercises. A massaging effect is created when your muscles are surrounded by water.

Water exercise is commonly advocated for people with the following conditions:

• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Joint problems
• MS
• Soft-tissue injury
• Cardiac patients
• Obesity

If you suffer from any of these conditions, however, you should speak to your doctor before undertaking any exercise regime.

For class information please click here